Microsoft Teams add-on licenses

Article
06/18/2024
Applies to:

Microsoft Teams

This article is about Teams add-on licenses, which let you add capabilities for those Teams users in your organization who need them. The add-on licenses available to you depend on the Microsoft Teams plan you have.

Before reading this article, see Manage Teams licenses for information about Teams licenses.

This article contains the following sections:

Overview of all add-on licenses - An overview of all Teams add-on licenses with links to more information where applicable.
Audio Conferencing licenses - Describes add-on licenses for Audio Conferencing with links to more information where applicable.
Teams Phone with PSTN connectivity licenses - Describes add-on licenses for Teams Phone and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) connectivity options.
Manage add-on licenses - Links to information for purchasing add-on licenses, and for assigning licenses to users.
More information
Contact support

Overview of all add-on licenses

The following table provides an overview of the add-on licenses that you can add to your Teams subscription. For example, you might want to add an Audio Conferencing license so that users can dial in to meetings using their phones. Or, your organization might decide to deploy Teams Phone, which provides PBX functionality, with an additional option for connecting to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) for external calling.

License	Description
Microsoft Teams Premium	Microsoft Teams Premium is an add-on license to Teams that allows organizations with Microsoft 365 subscriptions and Teams licenses to enhance their Teams experience with added benefits, such as personalized and intelligent meetings, enhanced meeting protection, and advanced management and reporting capabilities. For more information about the Teams Premium add-on license, see Microsoft Teams Premium licensing.
Audio Conferencing	Audio Conferencing is an add-on license to Teams that enables people in your organization to use a phone instead of their computer to call in to a Teams meeting. Note that Audio Conferencing doesn't require a Teams Phone license. Audio Conferencing licenses are described in more detail later in this article.
Teams Phone Standard	Teams Phone Standard is an add-on license to Teams that provides a hosted telephone service. This service provides Private Branch Exchange (PBX) capabilities, such as cloud voicemail, call forwarding, call transfer, auto attendants, call queues, and caller ID. If your users need to call phone numbers outside your organization, you can choose from several options for connecting to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), including choosing Microsoft as your PSTN carrier. Teams Phone and PSTN connectivity options are described in more detail later in this article.
Microsoft Teams Calling Plans	Microsoft Teams Calling Plans is an add-on license to Teams Phone for making calls to the PSTN. With this option, Microsoft is your PSTN carrier. If you already have Teams Phone and if Calling Plans are available in your country/region, you can purchase one of the Calling Plan options, which are described in more detail later in this article.
Teams Phone with Calling Plan bundle	Teams Phone with Calling Plan bundle is an add-on license to Teams that provides both Teams Phone and a Microsoft Calling Plan for connectivity to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). With this option, Microsoft is your PSTN provider. Calling Plan options are described in more detail later in this article.
Communication Credits	Communication Credits is an add-on license that provides a monthly pool of minutes that can be used for PSTN phone calls. For example, you might want to purchase Communication Credits if all your Calling Plan minutes get used before the beginning of the next month, or if you want toll-free numbers for Audio Conferencing, Auto attendants, or Call queues. For more information, see set up Communications Credits.
Microsoft Teams Rooms	Microsoft Teams Rooms is an add-on license to Teams that brings video, audio, and content sharing to conference rooms. - Teams Rooms Basic is a free license for up to 25 rooms that delivers core meeting and management functionality for all Teams Rooms devices. - Teams Rooms Pro brings enhanced meeting experiences and advanced management and security to help you operate your devices at scale and enable inclusive hybrid meetings. For more information, see Teams Meeting Room Licensing.
Microsoft Teams Shared Devices	Microsoft Teams Shared Devices is an add-on license to Teams that supports hybrid work by allowing offices to designate devices as shared devices, including common area phones, Teams displays for hot-desks, and Teams panels for meeting spaces. For more information, see Microsoft Teams Shared Devices licensing.

Important

Starting April 1, 2024, all new Enterprise customers who wish to provide workers with both Microsoft Teams and the value in existing Microsoft 365 or Office 365 Enterprise suites (E1/E3/E5) will need to purchase two SKUs: one E1/E3/E5 (no Teams) suite and one Teams standalone (Microsoft Teams Enterprise or Microsoft Teams EEA). Microsoft 365 Business suites (up to 300 users) and Frontline worker suites will be available in versions both with and without Teams.

For Enterprise customers in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, this change became effective on October 1, 2023.

Enterprise customers already subscribed to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suites that include Teams prior to April 1, 2024 will continue to be able to use, renew, upgrade, and otherwise adjust their subscriptions that include Teams as before.

For more information on this licensing change in the EEA and Switzerland, see New subscription structure for Microsoft 365 in Europe.

For more information on this licensing change for all other global regions, see Microsoft Teams licensing announcement.

Audio Conferencing licenses

An Audio Conferencing license enables people in your organization to use a phone instead of their computer to call in to a Teams meeting--also called PSTN conferencing for meetings. An Audio Conferencing license isn't the same as a Teams Phone license. For information on Teams Phone licenses, see Teams Phone with PSTN connectivity licenses.

To find out whether Audio Conferencing is available in your country or region, see Country and region availability for Audio Conferencing and Calling Plans. For pricing info, see Pricing for Audio Conferencing.

For users who schedule or lead meetings with attendees who need to call in using a phone, you'll need to set up Audio Conferencing.

You can also choose to use a third-party operator for your Audio Conferencing numbers if your current operator is part of the Microsoft Operator Connect program. For more information, see Plan for Operator Connect Conferencing.

After purchasing a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription, if you select either a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 E1 or E3 subscription, you'll still need to buy a separate Audio Conferencing license. An Audio Conferencing license is already included in the E5 subscription.

The following table displays which Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription to purchase based on your subscription audience.

Subscription type	Subscription
Enterprise	- Office 365 E1¹ - Office 365 E3¹ - Office 365 E5^1,3
Frontline	- Microsoft 365 F1 - Microsoft 365 F3 - Office 365 F3²
Other	- Office 365 A1 - Microsoft 365 A3 - Microsoft 365 G3

¹ Microsoft 365 E3/E5 and Office 365 E1/E3/E5 suites that include Teams are no longer available for purchase by new customers.

² Office 365 F3 is available for purchase by new customers through Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) only.

³ This Teams subscription plan gives your organization the most security and compliance features found in the highest tiers of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions.

The following table displays Audio Conferencing license options.

License	Description
Standard Audio Conferencing License	This license includes: - Toll phone numbers to dial in meetings for all supported countries. - Toll phone minutes for all supported countries. - Operator Connect Conferencing. - 60 outbound minutes per user per month to Zone A countries. These minutes are pooled at the tenant level, so if there's one tenant with multiple Audio Conferencing users, the minutes are shared among all users.
Free Audio Conferencing License	For outbound calls to the United States and Canada only. With this exception, this license includes: - The same capabilities as the Standard Audio Conferencing License. - Toll-free phone numbers. - Toll-free minutes.

After the 60 minutes of outbound minutes to Zone A countries have been used, your Audio Conferencing users won't be able to make calls or dial out from online Audio Conferencing meetings.

You can purchase additional licenses and assign them to your users so that they can dial out to non-Zone A countries using the following options:

Communication Credits - Prepaid budget to support outgoing minutes. For more information on Communication Credits, see:
Pay-As-You-Go - Dial out and pay per user per minute for all outgoing calls.
Pay per minute - Pay for all of your Audio Conferencing usage on a per-minute basis without paying for a per-user monthly license. This option is only available to Volume and Licensing customers. For more information, see Audio Conferencing pay-per-minute.

Teams Phone with PSTN connectivity licenses

Most Microsoft 365 plans allow Teams users to make peer-to-peer calls within your organization using VoIP technology. However, you might want to add licenses for setting up Teams Phone PBX capabilities and connecting to the PSTN for external calling.

Teams Phone requires a separate add-on license. For Teams Phone only, buy a Teams Phone Standard license. For users to make and receive external calls using the PSTN, you'll need to choose a PSTN connectivity option as well.

For PSTN connectivity, there are multiple options, including:

Choosing Microsoft as your PSTN carrier by purchasing a Microsoft Calling Plan license.
Choosing a separate PSTN carrier.

This section describes Teams Phone license options. Some PSTN connectivity options require an additional license; some don't. For detailed information about Teams Phone PBX features, see Teams Phone features. For information about which voice solution is best for your organization, see Plan your voice solution and PSTN connectivity options.

Teams Phone with Microsoft Calling Plans

Teams Phone with Calling Plans is available as:

A Teams Phone with Calling Plan bundle
A Teams Phone Standard license with a separate Calling Plan license

There are Domestic Calling Plans, International Calling Plans, and Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plans. To find out whether Teams Calling Plans is available in your country or region, see Country and region availability for Audio Conferencing and Calling Plans.

Teams Phone with a separate PSTN connectivity option

If you don't have Microsoft Calling Plans available in your region or if you want to choose another PSTN connectivity option, you can choose from the following options:

Teams Phone with Operator Connect - If your existing carrier participates in the Microsoft Operator Connect program, they can manage PSTN calling for you. Operator Connect requires a Teams Phone license. See Plan for Operator Connect.
Teams Phone with Operator Connect for India - Addresses the telephony regulatory issues specific to India. Operator Connect for India requires licenses from your PSTN carrier in India. For more information, see Plan Operator Connect for India.
Teams Phone Mobile - A user’s SIM-enabled phone number is also their Teams phone number. Teams Phone Mobile requires Teams Phone and Teams Phone Mobile licenses. For more information, see Plan for Teams Phone Mobile.
Direct Routing - Lets you connect a supported, customer-provided Session Border Controller (SBC) to Microsoft Teams Phone. Direct Routing requires a Teams Phone license. For more information, see Plan for Direct Routing.
Shared Calling - Uses the phone number of a resource account associated with an Auto attendant for inbound and outbound PSTN calls. Share Calling requires a Teams Phone license. For more information, see Plan for Shared Calling.

Teams Phone Standard with Frontline Worker

If you have a frontline worker subscription, buy a Teams Phone Standard for Frontline Workers license. To access the Teams Phone for Frontline Workers license, your tenant must also be licensed with Microsoft 365 Frontline Worker or Office 365 Frontline Worker licenses. Frontline Worker licenses can be assigned only to users who meet one or more of the following requirements:

Uses a primary device with a single screen smaller than 10.9".
Shares a primary work device with other licensed Frontline Worker licensed users, during or across shifts.
Other licensed Frontline Worker users also use the device as their primary work device.
Any software or services accessed from the shared device requires the devices or users to be assigned a user license that includes use of those software or services.

For more information about frontline workers, see Understand frontline worker user types and licensing.

Summary of Teams Phone license options

The following table summarizes license options for Teams Phone.

License options	Subscription type	Teams subscription
Teams Phone with Microsoft Calling Plan bundle	Business	- Teams Essentials with Microsoft Entra ID - Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium
	Enterprise	- Microsoft 365 E3 (no Teams) plus Teams Enterprise - Microsoft 365 E3 EEA (no Teams) plus Teams EEA - Microsoft 365 E3¹ - Office 365 E1/E3 (no Teams) plus Teams Enterprise - Office 365 E1/E3 EEA (no Teams) plus Teams EEA - Office 365 E1/E3¹ - Teams Enterprise - Teams EEA
	Frontline	- Microsoft 365 F1/F3 - Office 365 F3²
	Other	- Microsoft 365 A3 - Office 365 A1 - Microsoft 365 G3
Teams Phone with separate PSTN connectivity option	Business	- Teams Essentials with Microsoft Entra ID - Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium
	Enterprise	- Microsoft 365 E3 (no Teams) plus Teams Enterprise - Microsoft 365 E3 EEA (no Teams) plus Teams EEA - Microsoft 365 E3¹ - Office 365 E1/E3 (no Teams) plus Teams Enterprise - Office 365 E1/E3 EEA (no Teams) plus Teams EEA - Office 365 E1/E3¹ - Teams Enterprise - Teams EEA - Microsoft 365 E5 (no Teams) plus Teams Enterprise³ - Microsoft 365 E5 EEA (no Teams) plus Teams EEA³ - Microsoft 365 E5^1,3 - Office 365 E5 (no Teams) plus Teams Enterprise³ - Office 365 E5 EEA (no Teams) plus Teams EEA³ - Office 365 E5^1,3
	Frontline	- Microsoft 365 F1/F3 - Office 365 F3² - Microsoft 365 F1/F3 plus Microsoft 365 F5 Security + Compliance³
	Other	- Microsoft 365 A3 - Office 365 A1 - Microsoft 365 G3 - Microsoft 365 A5³ - Office 365 A5³ - Microsoft 365 G5³

¹ Microsoft 365 E3/E5 and Office 365 E1/E3/E5 suites that include Teams are no longer available for purchase by new customers.

² Office 365 F3 is available for purchase by new customers through Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) only.

³ This Teams subscription plan gives your organization the most security and compliance features found in the highest tiers of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions.

Manage add-on licenses

For instructions on how to buy licenses in the Microsoft 365 admin center, see Buy or remove licenses.

After you've purchased licenses, you'll need to assign them to your users. For more information, see Assign Teams add-on licenses.

You have two ways to remove users' access to certain products: unassign product licenses from specific users or unassign user licenses from a specific product. For instructions on how to unassign licenses, see Unassign licenses from users.

More information

For more information about Microsoft plans according to your organization type:

Contact support

Need to talk to someone about the add-on options? Contact support for business products - Admin Help.

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